Oct 27th, 2010 at 4:45PM:
Today on Yahoo Travel, "America's Meanest Airlines" were revealed. The story, "based on the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) Report, which covers 18 domestic carriers," lambasts American Airlines, United, Delta and several other airlines, including four regional carriers.
The Airline Quality Rating Report is conducted jointly by professors at Wichita State University and Purdue University. The ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
unitedairlines posts
"America's Meanest Airlines" exposed
Oct 27th, 2010 at 4:45PM:
Today on Yahoo Travel, "America's Meanest Airlines" were revealed. The story, "based on the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) Report, which covers 18 domestic carriers," lambasts American Airlines, United, Delta and several other airlines, including four regional carriers.
The Airline Quality Rating Report is conducted jointly by professors at Wichita State University and Purdue University. The ...Airline profits may mean more elbow room for a little while
Oct 24th, 2010 at 10:00AM: The airline industry wants to thank you. Last year, it was mired in despair. The post-financial crisis recession left the carriers beleaguered and desperate for a turn of fortune. Corporate and leisure travel had fallen precipitously, and doubling down on extra fees, though prudent for profits, alienated both those considering a flight and the passengers with little choice but to hit the road. The ...Airline fees never going away, $1.2 billion in first half
Oct 19th, 2010 at 11:00AM: In the first six months of 2010, U.S. airlines raked in $1.2 billion – and that's just from change and cancellation fees. The industry is on track to see $2 billion in revenue just on ticket-related fees this year.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, here's where the money's going:
Delta had the most at $347.1 million in the first half of 2010
American Airlines was ...New Continental - United combination already leading on-time performance charts
Oct 12th, 2010 at 3:30PM:
The new combination of Continental Airlines and United Airlines is already off to a good start - the two just took the top spots in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights among the leading carriers in the country.
The Department of Transportation measures the on-time performance, and the information is published in the Air Travel Consumer Report. Continental ended the month with ...Fallen American Airlines could be next to merge ... with JetBlue?
Oct 12th, 2010 at 12:00PM: American Airlines used to be the largest airline in the industry – now it's third. Merger activity has narrowed the field, with Southwest-AirTran and United-Continental the latest deals that hit the sector. So, all eyes are on who will succumb to the urge to merge next, and American is being eyed as the next player.
According to a Forbes blog post, analysts from Morningstar believe that ...Five reasons airline fees up 50% year-over-year
Sep 27th, 2010 at 3:30PM: Does your wallet feel a little bit lighter? A new USA Today analysis reveals that airline fees are on the rise, with some up more than 50 percent relative to a year ago. The study compares the extra fees (not to be confused with fares) of 13 airlines and shows just how important this revenue source is to the airline sector.
According to USA Today, "The numerous fees are a sore subject for many ...United Airlines flight attendants create new cocktails - passengers pick the best
Sep 7th, 2010 at 1:30PM:
Last week, United airlines held an event for their most important passengers, and presented them with ten different cocktails, all designed by flight attendants. In total, United crew members submitted 64 different cocktails, and the top ten entries ended up on a table at Trader Vic's in Chicago.
The ten finalists:
Sunset-Sunrise : Finlandia Vodka, cranberry apple cocktail, splash of ...Top five reasons you'll pay more for flights
Jul 27th, 2010 at 1:00PM: It looks like flight deals are a thing of the past. The airline sector is starting to recover, as evidenced by an aggregate $1.3 billion in earnings for the six largest U.S. carriers last quarter, and more profits are said to be on the horizon. Of course, we're still in the early stages, and those earnings do pale in comparison to the $22.7 billion in losses sustained in 2008 and 2009. So, the ...Vegetarian child stranded in airport, fed burgers
Jul 27th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Julien Reid, at only nine years old, is used to air travel. He routinely flies between his parents in Ottawa, and San Francisco, so he's seen it all ... well, he has now. Reid was forgotten in a children's waiting room in Chicago, where he spent eight hours waiting and hoping to be discovered.
According to the Ottawa Citizen:
He was in a "tiny, little room cramped with kids," where they ...United creates Optathlon games for day-of-departure prizes
Jul 26th, 2010 at 5:00PM: It's a long shot, but if all of your attempts to find a better seat, upgrade and improve your upcoming trip on United Airlines have failed then there's one last thing you can do. Last week, United launched a series of video games on their website with prizes aimed at traveling customers.
What can you win? Among other things, it's possible to earn the opportunity to skip those pesky long lines ...Turbulence hurts: leading cause of in-flight injury
Jul 22nd, 2010 at 9:00AM: If you aren't splattered in a fatal crash, you're most likely to be injured by severe turbulence. Don't get shaken up by this, though, odds are the biggest risk you'll face is a middle seat sandwiched by garlic-eater and a heavy talker (choose which way you want to read that one). While you can't be saved from the people around you, you can protect our body from a bouncing plane: put on your ...Airline fines and delays: The world didn't end
Jul 11th, 2010 at 2:00PM: How many planes were stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours in May? You can count 'em on one hand: five. This is the second lowest result since the feds began monitoring this metric back in October 2008. A year earlier, 34 planes sat on the ground loaded with passengers for more than three hours, according to data from the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. ...For last second fares, watch for United's Twares
Jun 9th, 2010 at 8:30AM: As the social media monstrosity known as Twitter continues to grow by the nanosecond (did you know that the Whole Foods in Evanston, IL is now on Twitter?), more and more companies in the travel industry are now taking advantage of their followers to lure in new sales.
Sure it's just another marketing technique, but where travel consumers and producers can really benefit is in the wholesaling ...Delta tops list of "most complained about" U.S. airlines
Jun 7th, 2010 at 12:30PM: Travel + Leisure just released a survey that compiled airline complaint information from the Department of Transportation. In it, the number of complaints per 100,000 passengers were collected. The results are not much of a surprise - the legacy airlines take up the top spots, followed by low cost airlines and regional feeders.
Here are the top 5 airlines from the list:
Delta Airlines - ...Roller Girl busted for stealing 525 tickets from United Airlines
Jun 4th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Mercedes Stafford, the president of the Cincinnati Roller Girls pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally obtaining more than 500 airline tickets.
Stafford, who is known as "Sadistic Sadie" in her roller team works as a ticketing agent for United Airlines at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport and figured out a way to issue herself free tickets.
Her system involved printing ...Microsoft Zune becomes exclusive audio provider for United Airlines In-Flight Entertainment
Jun 3rd, 2010 at 1:30PM:
In a smart marketing move, Microsoft's Zune service has become the exclusive audio provider for United Airlines In-Flight Entertainment. Of course, this does not mean all passengers will be handed a Zune, the collaboration merely means the music experts behind Zune put together the music on all United Airlines domestic and international flights.
The 21 channels of digital programming ...Top ten best airlines revealed in 2010 World Airline Awards
May 25th, 2010 at 11:30AM: Spoiler alert: U.S. based airlines apparently all suck. At least, if you believe the results of the Skytrax 2010 World Airline Awards. The top ten airlines in the world are mostly from Asia. The only upside for U.S. based airlines is that no European airlines made it to the list either.
American airlines are only represented in the "best North American Airlines" results - and even there, Air ...New United Airlines livery still keeps a bit of Continental in the mix
May 3rd, 2010 at 2:30PM:
What you see here is the proposed final product of the United Airlines - Continental merger. As you can see, the new airline will fly with the United name, but keeps the globe logo from Continental.
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/travel_places/Proposed_New_Look_for_United_Continental_Planes'; I'm not sure what to make of it - but since these two airlines have been such important players in ...Continental and United Airlines approve merger
May 2nd, 2010 at 7:00PM: Two of the nation's largest airlines, United and Continental have taken one step closer to joining forces to becoming the world's largest carrier. Early last week, news in underground was that the two airlines were in high level talks to discuss merging operations. Things became more official with the announcement late last week that their respective boards had approved the undertaking.
The new ...BREAKING: United and Continental airlines to merge?
Apr 29th, 2010 at 4:44PM: We hear rumblings of airline mergers every day here at Gadling headquarters, but this one is starting to pick up traction. Chicago-based United Airlines and Houston-based Continental Airlines are reported to be in merger talks, with each respective board meeting to discuss possibilities and logistics this week.
What would a merger this mean for the average world traveler? The combined airline ...
